The Ultimate Three Day Hands-on Workshop

Coming to Quartz Mountain Distillers in Vancouver, WA

May 20-22, 2022

Make a Batch of Your Own Spirits To Take Home

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Three Days of Learning

After this workshop, you’ll have the confidence you need to start your own craft distillery.

Hands-on Instruction & Make Your Own Spirits

Attendees will learn in the Quartz Mountain Distillery with our instructors for hands-on education you won’t find anywhere else. Students will operate a 3 gallon reflux still and distill, blend and bottle their own batch of spirits to take home!

FREE Lifetime Access to Courses & Content

Attendees will also receive a free Lifetime Access membership to DistilleryUniversity.com, meaning you’ll be able to rewatch your workshop as well as all future workshops from anywhere, anytime!
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Expert Instructors

This Workshop is taught by real-world experts, ensuring you get the most valuable knowledge available.

Meet Our Presenters

Todd Buckley

Todd Buckley

Director of Education

Trading in silicon chips for copper stills, Todd Buckley is a technologist turned distiller. He has worked at Intel and Microsoft and has been instrumental in producing award-winning gin and vodka. He is the founder of Destiny Spirits and Lecturer in Social Media and consultant within the spirits industry.

Todd is well-known for the award-winning gin he made at the Bellewood Distillery. In 2014, his hand-crafted spirit scored a 94 from the Beverage Tasting Institute, beating out such notable gins as Beefeater, Tanqueray and Bombay Sapphire. He’ll be sharing his experiential secrets as well as his technical knowledge in this 3-day Workshop that is not to be missed.

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Syllabus

Industry expert Todd Buckley covers:

    • Welcome to the Beverage Alcohol Industry
      • History of Distilling in America
      • Regulation Highlights to Distill in the US
      • The Competitive Landscape of Spirits in the US
    • Introduction to Biology: Fermentation
      • Grains, Fruits and Yeast
      • Yeast Strains
    • Introduction to Chemistry: Alcohol
      • Ethanol, Methanol, Isopropanol
      • Organic Acids
      • Ethylene and Ethyl Ether
      • Esters
      • Filtration
    • Vodka distillation
      • Properly Using a Hydrometer
      • Substrate Choices
      • Achieving 190 proof
      • Filtration
      • Proofing
      • Bottling
    • Brandy Distillation
      • Fruit Choices
      • Achieving 160 proof
      • Filtration
      • Proofing
      • Bottling
    • Botanicals Blending for Gin
      • Botanical Choices
      • Maceration, Decoction and Infusion
      • Filtration
      • Proofing
      • Bottling
    • Brewing Skill for Whiskey Distillation and Aging
      • Substrate Choices
      • Fermentation
      • Distillation Techniques
      • Aging
      • Filtration
      • Proofing
      • Bottling
    • Introduction to Physics: Distillation
    • Heating, Reflux and Condensation
    • Still Design
    • Weight, Volume and Temperature
The hands-on instruction will take place at the very well-equipped Quartz Mountain Distillers. Owner and distilling expert Darin Kyle will walk us through how to operate his equipment, preparing a mash for fermentation and what considerations need to be made in creating a perfect batch of spirits. Darin and Todd will be on hand to answer any and all questions you might have about any aspect of running a distillery.

No other Workshop allows you to actually take control of a professional-grade reflux still and produce your own batch of spirits under the supervision of award-winning instruction staff.

If you’re looking to get ACTUAL hands-on experience, this is the Workshop for you. We’ll have a mash already made up for you, so all you have to focus on is getting your spirits to come out just right.

After your spirits run is complete, you’ll then be shown how to blend with distilled water in order to get the strength and flavor profile you’re looking for. From there, you’ll bottle your finished spirit and take it home with you!

Topics to be covered in the hands-on portion of the class are:

  • Mashing
    • Grain choice
    • Temperatures
  • Fermentation
    • Choosing the base product
    • Yeast choice
    • Vessel choice
  • Distillation
    • Making the cuts
    • Temperature choice
    • Equipment design/performance
    • Still performance
Friday & Saturday: We’ll all meet at the classroom at Quartz Mountain Distillers at 9am PST. These days will consist of classroom learning with a lunch at around noon. You’ll also have access to the distillery to see the equipment, layout, etc. Class will conclude at around 4-5pm PST (depending on the number of questions).

Later on Saturday (7pm to 9pm PST), we’re holding a Tasting & Sensory Evaluation Event at a nearby restaurant. For a small fee we’ll all be served numerous “short shots” of various spirits and we’ll attempt to sort out the different flavor profiles and distilleries of each. Our lead facilitator Todd Buckley will be on hand to help us determine the different notes and aromas we can experience. Excellent food will also be available there (this event is one of the highlights of all our Workshops, so feel free to bring your spouse or companion).

Sunday: Today is the hands-on portion of the Workshop, so please wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes. We’ll be getting started at 9am PST. Darin Kyle, founder of Quartz Mountain Distillers will be giving us an in-depth tour of the distillery, as well as taking us through his process of making unique and distinct spirits. Everyone will be able to operate one of our small reflux column stills and take home a bottle of spirits.

We’ll close class between 3pm and 5pm PST, depending on what’s going on in the distillery and how many questions people have.

3 gallon still
3 gallon still
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Tuition

20% off for early registration!
$1899
  • Workshop dates: May 20-22, 2022
  • Reserved spot for all 3 days
  • Includes a free Lifetime Access membership to DistilleryUniversity.com online courses (including all footage from this Workshop – $499 value!)
  • Includes supplemental materials
  • Includes invitations to any After-Hours Events throughout the weekend
  • Your future distillery will be featured prominently on the Alumnus Directory
  • Early Registration discount ends 20 days before each Workshop
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Early Registration Discount

Register at least 20 days before a Workshop and receive the discounted rate of $1899. After the discount closes, registration increases to $2375.

Questions?

Just call (509) 999-1244 or email info@distilleryuniversity.com. We’ll be happy to provide you with any information you need.

Bringing a friend?

Email us at info@distilleryuniversity.com to receive 20% off a second seat at our workshop!

There are numerous other hotels in the immediate area that are available. We recommend using Booking.com to find your hotel, or use AirBNB.com.
We understand that sometimes things come up unexpectedly, and we will work with you in the event of a cancellation.

All registrations cancelled at least 60 days before a Workshop will be refunded in full. Cancellations after that date will be refunded 50%. Unfortunately, we cannot accept cancellations less than 30 days before a Workshop.

Thank you for your understanding.

Downtown Vancouver is one of Washington’s hubs for top-quality restaurants and entertainment. Within blocks of the distillery you’ll find a wide range of food offerings, bars, even a speakeasy or two. There are numerous theaters, places to shop, and more. Click here to visit the Vancouver tourism website.

Just across the river in Portland OR, you’ll also find over 20 craft distilleries. Make the most of this trip and tour as many as you can!

Proudly display your dedication to your distilling education with an official certificate of membership from Distillery University. At the conclusion of the workshop, every attendee receives a certificate to put on the wall of their future distillery.
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